Google has said it will now scan apps made for its Android mobile operating system for Malware.
Commons form of malware are code which downloads a virus or attempts to steal a user’s data.
Unlike Apple, Google did not previously check apps before they were uploaded to its Android Market.
This allowed malicious apps to be uploaded and installed by owners, although the company did remove apps if they were discovered to include malware.
In a blogbost, Hiroshi Lockheimer, Vice President of Engineering, Android, said Google’s new Bouncer service “provides automated scanning of Android Market for potentially malicious software without disrupting the user experience of Android Market or requiring developers to go through an application approval process.”
Describing how Bouncer works, Lockheimer wrote: “once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags.”